Five men get life sentences for graveyard murder

The seven-week murder trial took place at the Central Criminal Court in Cork

Five men who murdered a man in a violent assault while he was attending a funeral have been given life sentences.

Thomas Dooley, a father of seven from County Kerry, was attacked with bladed weapons in Rath Cemetery in Tralee on 5 October 2022.

His widow, Siobhan Dooley, was also seriously injured in the attack.

The five men, who are all related to the victim, were found guilty by a jury earlier this month.

The trial at the Central Criminal Court in Cork was told that Mr Dooley was murdered because his daughter had previously refused to marry one of the killers.

A sixth person - a teenager who has not been named because of his age - was also found guilty of the murder and is due to be sentenced in October.

'Unspeakable violence'

The five men who were given mandatory life sentences included the victim's younger brother, Patrick Dooley.

The 36-year-old is from Arbutus Grove in Killarney, County Kerry.

The killers also included a father and son - Thomas Dooley senior and Thomas Dooley junior, both of Bay 10, Halting Site, Carrigrohane Road, Cork.

The others were Michael Dooley of Bay 11 in the same halting site and 42-year-old Daniel Dooley, of An Carraigín, Connolly Park in Tralee.

Michael and Daniel Dooley were cousins of the victim.

The judge, Ms Justice Mary Ellen Ring, described the violence the gang used against him as totally unwarranted and unspeakable.

Thomas Dooley junior, who is now 21, was a teenager at the time of the murder.

He had been in a relationship with one of the couple's daughters, but she refused to marry him and called it off.

During the trial, the prosecution alleged the killers took offence at this and Mr Dooley was later murdered in what was described as an honour killing.

In addition to the murder charge, Thomas Dooley junior was also found guilty of assaulting Siobhan Dooley, who suffered a deep wound during the attack.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Dooley said: "What happened in the graveyard that day will have a lasting impact on me."

She added: "The way he was murdered is a death nobody deserves, certainly not my Thomas."

Thomas Dooley junior was further sentenced to four and a half years in jail for assaulting her, a term which is to be served concurrently with his life sentence.